- In addition to his previously-reported workouts, Cameron Johnson (UNC) has auditioned for the Timberwolves, Celtics, Thunder, Sixers, and Warriors, tweets Gery Woelfel of Woelfel’s Press Box.
- French standout Sekou Doumbouya spent a day with the Timberwolves earlier this week, undergoing some medical testing and a workout, reports Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Doumbouya is the No. 9 ranked prospect by ESPN. Minnesota owns the No. 11 pick in this month’s draft.
- Wolfson adds that Kentucky’s PJ Washington worked out for the Timberwolves today alongside some other prospects. ESPN ranks Washington as the No. 16 overall prospect.
After reporting earlier this week that the Celtics had “engaged pretty seriously” on Rockets center Clint Capela, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders has provided a few more details today. Sources tell Kyler that Boston has “expressed considerable interest” in Capela. However, he may be more of a Plan B or C for the Celtics, particularly if they’re still serious about pursuing Anthony Davis.
As Kyler details, league sources are skeptical that the Celtics will keep and use all three of their first-round picks (Nos. 14, 20, and 22). Meanwhile, Houston has been trying to get first-round prospects in for workouts despite not currently holding any draft picks — Kyler writes that the Rockets have been suggesting to agents that they have the ability to acquire a pick in the top 20.
It’s possible that the Celtics could trade one of their first-rounders to another team, and the Rockets are likely exploring deals with clubs outside of Boston. Still, it’s worth watching to see if those two teams end up getting something done on or before draft night.
Here’s more from Kyler:
- Although Kyler, like others, has heard that the Celtics are operating as if Kyrie Irving probably won’t return, he writes that the club is prepared to offer Irving a maximum-salary deal to see if he’ll turn it down.
- There’s a sense that Philadelphia will make full maximum-salary offers to Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris, per Kyler. The Sixers are making sure that their players and other teams know they’re serious about keeping their core intact, according to Kyler, who adds that there’s a belief that Butler and Harris would re-sign if the team does put those offers on the table.
- Kyler says that the Cavaliers, Suns, Hawks, Timberwolves, Magic, Hornets, Heat, and Celtics are all viewed as candidates to trade top-20 picks in the draft, either for veteran players or to move up or down in the draft.
Israeli Yovel Zoosman, a 6’6” small forward, will keep his name in the draft, Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets. Zoosman plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv, which just advanced to the Israeli league playoff finals. Zoosman is ranked No. 53 on Givony’s Top 100 prospects list.
We have more draft decisions and workouts:
- German point guard Josh Obiesie will stay in the draft, according to another Givony tweet. Givony has Obiesie ranked No. 64 overall and No. 10 among point guard prospects.
- Forward Paul Eboua, Cameroon native, has withdrawn his name from the draft, according to Givony (Twitter link). He joins 11 other international players — Gytis Masiulis, Abdoulaye N’Doye, Digue Diawara, Aleksandr Balcerowski, Aleix Font, Zoran Paunovic, Dalibor Ilic, Louis Olinde, Jonas Matisseck, Tadas Sedekerskis and Vrenz Bleijenbergh — who have also decided to pull out of the draft. Matas Jogela, a Lithuanian forward, and William McDowell-White, an Australian guard, will remain in the draft, according to Givony (Twitter links).
- Mississippi State forward Aric Holman worked out for the Raptors on Monday, according to Ian Begley of SNY TV (Twitter link). He visited the Knicks last week and will work out for the Kings, Lakers and Cavaliers this week, Begley adds.
- First round prospect Tyler Herro (Kentucky) has worked out for the Spurs and will also visit the Pacers and Timberwolves, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. Herro is ranked No. 18 overall and No. 4 among shooting guards by Givony.
The Timberwolves hired David Vanterpool as associate coach to improve the defense and motivate Andrew Wiggins, which might be the toughest jobs in the organization, suggests Michael Rand of The Star-Tribune. Team president Gersson Rosas interviewed Vanterpool for the head coaching slot before deciding to stick with Ryan Saunders, so the former Trail Blazers assistant obviously made a good impression.
However, Rand points out that Vanterpool will be taking over a defense that has ranked in the bottom third of the league for the past five seasons and that even defensive specialist Tom Thibodeau couldn’t fix. Vanterpool has a solid relationship with Wiggins from coaching him with Team Canada in 2015, but raising his level of play has been a concern even before the club signed him to an extension two years ago.
There’s more news out of Minnesota:
- North Carolina guard Coby White held an individual workout for the Wolves Friday, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. White is listed at No. 8 in the list of top 100 prospects compiled by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, and Minnesota doesn’t pick until No. 11, so the Wolves may be thinking about trading up. The team held a separate six-player workout yesterday that included Rayjon Tucker (Arkansas-Little Rock), Amir Coffey (Minnesota), Dedric Lawson (Kansas) and Kris Wilkes (UCLA) (Twitter link).
- French standout Sekou Doumbouya held a pro day today and will pay a visit to Minnesota for a workout early next week, according to Wolfson (Twitter link). The 6’9″ forward comes in ninth on Givony’s list .
- Aaron Brooks, who ended his playing career with the Wolves during the 2017/18 season, attended a free agent camp with the team this week as a coach, Wolfson adds. At age 34, Brooks is hoping to make the transition into coaching. He played for seven teams in an 11-year career.
- Two-way player Jared Terrell did well in the G League, but didn’t get much of a chance to showcase his skills at the NBA level in his rookie season, writes Kyle Ratke of NBA.com. Terrell, who averaged 7.9 minutes in 14 games with the Wolves, will now wait for an invitation to be part of Minnesota’s Summer League team.
Pablo Prigioni will leave the Nets to become an assistant coach with the Timberwolves, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. He becomes the second addition to Ryan Saunders‘ staff in two days, joining former Trail Blazers assistant David Vanterpool, who agreed to join the Wolves yesterday.
Prigioni spent four years as an NBA player, including a brief stop in Houston in 2015 while new Minnesota president Gersson Rosas was an executive there. Prigioni will focus mainly on the Wolves’ offense, according to Wojnarowski.
The 42-year-old was a long-time star in Argentina and Europe become coming to the NBA. After retiring in 2016, he became head coach of Baskonia in Spain and joined Brooklyn’s staff prior as a player development coach to the start of this season.
Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver made his case to be drafted third overall during a workout today with the Knicks, relays Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Calling himself “an elite two-way player,” Culver told reporters his defensive abilities separate him from other top prospects.
“Nowadays, it’s hard to find people who take pride in defense. But I’m one of them,” he said. “I take pride in defense. Being at Texas Tech taught me a lot, so I feel like on the defensive side I’m elite.”
Most mock drafts have Duke’s R.J. Barrett headed to New York, following Duke’s Zion Williamson and Murray State’s Ja Morant off the board. Culver said he’s confident in what he has to offer and doesn’t compare himself to Barrett.
“I feel like we’re great players, both of us,” Culver said. “He has a lot of talent, I have a lot of talent. And at the end of the day it’s not our choice where we go, it’s for everybody else to choose. So we just put in the work. I know he’s working hard, I’m working hard. So it is what it is.”
Culver already had a workout with the Lakers, who hold the No. 4 selection, and he has sessions scheduled with the next three teams in the draft, the Cavaliers, Suns and Bulls.
There’s more draft news tonight:
- Central Florida’s Tacko Fall wasn’t able to participate in shooting drills with the Pacers today after rolling his ankle earlier in the workout, writes Wheat Hotchkiss of NBA.com. The injury doesn’t sound serious and the 7’7″ center made an impression by towering over his workout partners. “Whenever people see me, it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, he’s tall, but can he play?,'” Fall said. “It’s something that I had to work on. I have worked really hard. I have great people around me that have helped me become the player I am today. I just have to keep working.” Others at the session included Indiana’s Juwan Morgan, Florida State’s Mfiondu Kabengele and Clemson’s Elijah Thomas.
- Purdue’s Carsen Edwards, who worked out for the Sixers today, has also been through sessions with the Pacers, Jazz and Nets, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He has upcoming workouts set with the Bucks, Celtics and Thunder.
- Gonzaga’s Brandon Clarke has worked out for several teams already and has sessions scheduled with the Celtics, Nets, Bulls, Pistons and Timberwolves, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link).
- The Timberwolves are taking a similar approach under new head of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, according to Stein, who notes that Rosas brought back Ryan Saunders but dismissed his entire staff. Stein writes that Saunders wanted to hire Sidney Lowe as his lead assistant, but was rebuffed by management.
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Former Kentucky Wildcat PJ Washington is fully healthy and will have his first pre-draft workout on Sunday, Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com relays (Twitter link). The first of his five upcoming visits will be with the Heat.
Here are more workout notes on the upcoming draft:
- John Konchar (Purdue) recently worked out for the Suns and Magic, a source tells Jordan Schultz of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Konchar will work out for the Warriors on June 6.
- Elijah Thomas (Clemson) has worked out for the Pacers, Michael Scotto of The Athletic relays. Thomas will participate in drills for the Wizards on Friday.
- Matt McQuaid worked out for the Pistons and Grizzlies, Rod Beard of the Detroit News tweets. The Michigan State product will also work out for the Cavaliers.
- Amir Coffey (Minnesota) has worked out for the Raptors and Hornets, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). Coffey will also work out for the Pelicans and Timberwolves.
The Jazz, Magic, Timberwolves, and Pacers are among the teams expected to display interest in D’Angelo Russell when he hits the free agent market this summer, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic. Of course, since Russell will be a restricted free agent, the Nets will open the offseason in the driver’s seat to retain him.
With the Nets expected to be in the hunt for top free agents like Kawhi Leonard and Kyrie Irving, Russell may have to be patient and wait for those stars to make decisions before Brooklyn moves on him, as he acknowledged earlier this week. However, a rival suitor could speed up his free agency timeline by putting a huge offer sheet on the table, forcing the Nets to decide whether or not to match that offer once the July moratorium ends.
Still, the teams named by Charania as probable suitors for Russell don’t look particularly well-equipped to put together that sort of lucrative offer sheet. Neither the Timberwolves nor the Magic project to have any cap room available, and the mid-level exception obviously won’t be enough to make a serious play for the All-Star point guard.
The Jazz have a clearer path to creating cap space, but they might need to waive Derrick Favors to create the necessary room, which would be a risky play without any assurances that the Nets wouldn’t match an offer sheet for Russell. Tony Jones of The Athletic suggests (via Twitter) that Utah would only be interested if Russell becomes unrestricted or if it’s clear the Nets won’t match.
The Pacers are the one team in the aforementioned group with the cap flexibility required to make a strong bid for Russell, though they have plenty of moving parts to consider too, with a handful of starters and rotation players up for new deals.
Russell, who set new career highs in 2018/19 with 21.1 PPG, 7.0 APG, a .434 FG%, and a .369 3PT%, would be eligible to sign for up to $158MM over five years with the Nets, based on current cap projections. The most a rival team could offer would be about $117MM for four years.